While 2012 saw the release of the 7.9-inch iPad Mini to better compete against the 7-inch Android tablets, we’ve yet to see the iPad grow in size. But if the latest rumor is to be believed, that’s about to change in the next couple of weeks.

What looks like Apple’s iPad Mini, but has better specs, is considerably cheaper, and runs a stock version of Android 5.0 Lollipop? The new Nokia N1 tablet, apparently. At just $250 with 32GB of storage — as opposed to the iPad Mini 3’s base price of $400 for the 16GB model — the Nokia N1 is definitely priced to sell.

Curiously, the iPad Mini 3 is identical to last year’s iPad Mini 2 — the same screen, the same camera, the same A7 SoC, the same dimensions — except it now has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Even weirder: Last year’s iPad Mini 2 is still for sale, but starting $100 cheaper at just $300. Yes, in a complete 12-month product cycle, the only change Apple has made to the iPad Mini 3 is the addition of the Touch ID sensor — and it’ll cost you an extra $100 if you want to use it.

With Apple’s new iPad event officially scheduled for October 16, it’s time to take a final look at all of the leaked and rumored hardware specs and design details. In some ways, Apple’s new iPads will actually be more interesting than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus: While the smartphone market is still growing rapidly and the iPhone continues to be disgustingly popular, iPad sales have started to slow over the last 12 months, meaning Apple might be attempt something a little more daring than just a thinner and lighter version of last year’s model.

Apple has sent out invites for a special event on October 16, where the company will almost certainly unveil this year’s updates to the iPad Air and iPad Mini. The event, which is being held on the Apple campus at a much smaller venue than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch, will probably also feature some updates to Apple’s other product lines, such as the iMac and Apple TV. There’s an outside chance that we’ll see something new and crazy on October 16, like a TV set, but I think it’s unlikely, considering the Apple Watch’s recent debut.

On September 17 — tomorrow — Apple will release iOS 8 for the iPhone 5S, 5C, and 4S, along with the iPad 2, 3, 4, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. If you want to install iOS 8 right now, before the official release, follow the instructions below. We will also include instructions how to officially update to iOS 8 when it is released tomorrow.

Apple is gearing up for the launch of the iPhone 6 in September, and has reportedly placed a massive order of between 70 and 80 million units — far more than any previous iPhone launch. As we’ve previously reported, the iPhone 6 will step up to a much larger 4.7-inch screen with a sapphire front panel — but curiously, there’s now a very solid rumor that there will also be an iPhone 6 with a 5.5-inch screen. At first blush, a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 sounds utterly crazy, but it makes a little more sense following Apple’s earnings call on Tuesday: Last quarter, Apple’s tablet sales dropped a massive 19% sequentially and 9% year-over-year. Perhaps fading iPad sales are the reason Apple is finally looking at large-screen phones?

Late yesterday, Apple (AAPL) reported its fiscal second quarter earnings. Apple made a profit of $10.2 billion in its second fiscal quarter of 2014 on revenue of $45.6 billion, up from $9.5 billion and $43.6 billion respectively for the same quarter last year. The increase in revenue was mostly bolstered by a big jump in iPhone sales (from 37.4 million to 43.7 million). It’s not all good news, though. At long last, after one of the most meteoric rises in tech history, the iPad appears to be slowing down: Despite analysts predicting sales of 19.7 million units, Apple only shifted 16.35 million — a drop of more than 16% from 19.48 million that it sold in Q2 2013.